1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, an imaging method, and a program having a function of combining multiple images.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a camcorder, a digital still camera, or any other suitable apparatus is used to perform panorama imaging, it is necessary to keep the camera stationary whenever an image is captured, or it is necessary to move the camera slowly so that images are not blurred when the camera is moved and images are captured at the same time.
In the latter case, a high-speed shutter is also necessary to capture images.
In contrast, Japanese Patent No. 3,928,222 proposes a method for capturing images while moving a camera rapidly with the image resolution maintained.
In the technique proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3,928,222, the direction in which the camera is moved and the angular speed at which the camera is moved are detected and the optical axis is moved in the direction opposite to the movement of the camera at the same angular speed so that each image will not change. As a result, each image is captured as if only a single point is viewed.
An acceleration sensor and an angular speed sensor are in some cases necessary to achieve the control method described above. In contrast, Japanese Patent No. 3,925,299 proposes a method for appropriately controlling the optical axis without the two sensors and a feedback circuit for controlling them.
The method proposed in Japanese Patent No. 3,925,299 is used as a monitoring system in which the number of pulses of a stepper motor used to control the imaging direction is counted and the optical axis is controlled based on the count.